This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-54217, filed on Aug. 5, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to 3-dimensional (3-D) image processing, and more particularly, to an interface apparatus converting a multi-visual-point 2-dimensional (2-D) image signal into a signal suited to a 3-dimensional image display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image display systems such as TVs have been developed to produce more realistic images. Accordingly, the image display systems require 3-D image media and image processing units corresponding to the 3-D image media. The field of 3-D image display apparatuses is divided into optical processing and image processing. Specifically, 3-D image processing has been developed by focusing on compression, restoration, transmission, and synthesizing of an image signal. Conventionally, a stereo (2-visual-point) type terminal, which is the simplest 3-D information terminal, is applied to the game industry and the medical industry, and 3-D broadcasting is currently realized using the stereo (2-visual-point) type terminal in Japan.
The field of an information terminal for the 3-D broadcasting is divided into image compression, multiplexing, storage, inverse multiplexing, image restoring, and image synthesizing, and interfacing with display apparatuses. Research of 3-D multi-visual-point images is advancing in various fields. However, obvious consensus for image compression and restoration has not been achieved, and only standards for the image compression and restoration are being developed. Accordingly, in order to develop a 3-D multi-visual-point information terminal, development of a field of manufacturing display apparatuses must proceed by continuously observing how the MPEG committee is progressing.
Therefore, unique development of a 3-D multi-visual-point image display apparatus not influenced by the tendency of image compression and restoration technology progression is required. Accordingly, a 3-D image interface apparatus reconstructing a multi-visual-point image signal into a signal suited to the 3-D image display apparatus is essential.